Newark graduate leads New Albany into Little League regional

Greg Ecleberry is the coach of the New Albany Little League 12-year-old state champions. Ecleberry and his wife Amy (Samson) are 1990 graduates of Newark HIgh School, and their son Brandon, 13, is a second baseman on the team.(Photo: Submitted photo)

The Newark native coached the New Albany Little League All-Star team to the 12-year-old state title, putting itself a regional title away from playing in the prestigious Little League World Series.

"It's been quite an interesting week," said Ecleberry, who has handled media requests from all over central Ohio and beyond. "It adds to the excitement of the whole process."

New Albany plays in the Great Lakes Regional in Westfield, Indiana, beginning Sunday. New Albany drew a bye and will play its first game Monday.

Ecleberry's son Brandon is the team's second baseman. He and his wife Amy (Samson) are both 1990 graduates of Newark High School.

Many of the top players in central Ohio now are competing on travel teams, but Ecleberry played at North Newark growing up and has helped developed talent in New Albany's recreational program.

"It's been a fun, family thing for us," said Ecleberry, who also previously coached his 15-year-old son Andrew in youth sports. "The Little League experience is totally different from travel ball. We try to make it attractive for the players and have a lot of fun with it.

"It's pretty awesome," he added. "A lot of players' seasons ended in late June or early July, and this team was fortunate we were able to continue on the journey."

The six-team regional tournament is double elimination until a winner-take-all championship game. The early rounds are on streamed on the subscription ESPN+ service with the consolation semifinals and finals on Thursday and Friday and the championship game Aug. 11 broadcast on ESPN.

New Albany finished undefeated in winning the district and state tournaments. New Albany fended off Boardman 9-8 to win the state title.

"It takes the players' ability to not give up and not quit fighting," said Ecleberry, whose team lost to Boardman in the 11-year-old state final in 2017.

Amy Ecleberry said she saw New Albany featured on a Little League International social media page and called it a "surreal" experience.

If New Albany wins the regional tournament, the excitement will double.

"We can compete with the teams at regional and beyond as long as the boys put the work in and they keep believing in themselves," Greg Ecleberry said.